IKEA offers repair kit after 2 kids killed by falling dressers
A year after Ikea chests tipped over and fatally injured two boys, the Swedish furniture giant and safety regulators say consumers should keep the furniture - 27 million chests and dressers - away from children unless the products are mounted to a wall.
Ikea is offering a free kit to help consumers affix the furniture to a wall. The kit will be available to people who bought chests and dressers above specific heights, including 7 million of Ikea's Malm chests.
"They are unstable when built and used without a wall anchoring device," said CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson.
The furniture maker, along with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, issued a repair program to provide a wall anchoring kit for 7 million of their MALM 3, 4 or 6 drawer chests, as well as 20 million other IKEA chests and dressers.
IKEA says the furniture can pose a tip-over hazard if not securely anchored to the wall.
The announcement comes more than a year after the death of two-year-old Curren Collas of West Chester, Pa. He died in February 2014 after a MALM 6-drawer chest tipped over and pinned him against his bed.
The other child died in June, 2014. He was a 23-month old from Snohomish, Wash.
The CPSC says a child dies every two weeks and a child is injured every 24 minutes in the U.S. from furniture or TVs tipping over.
Ikea isn't offering a refund or telling customers to return the furniture to its stores, and says customers don't need proof of purchase to get the kit. It described the move as a "corrective action" and said it has been working with the CPSC on the announcement for six months. The agency said that time period included a review of Ikea's repair kit to make sure it wouldn't make the problem worse.
The CPSC has announced several other dresser recalls this year as part of a campaign intended to warn parents about the risks of furniture that can tip over, but none approached the size of Wednesday's recall.
To receive a free wall anchoring kit, visit an IKEA retail store or call (888) 966-4532.
For more information:
Announcement on CPSC.gov
www.IKEA-USA.com/saferhomestogether
www.AnchorIt.gov/
(Some information from the Associated Press.)
